New Channel Showcases More Than 30 Handpicked Chinese Companies#
rip, one of the apparel brands now featured on AliExpress Premier
In celebration of the one-year anniversary of its AliExpress wholesale platform, the Chinese B-to-B online marketplace Alibaba today launched a new online shopping channel very much in line with trends we've been watching in the Chinese retail market. The new channel, AliExpress Premier, is designed to give international buyers -- specifically American buyers -- a means to find and source a wide range of premium products from a range of home-grown Chinese brands hand-picked by the Alibaba team. Having scoured Taobao and the Internet to find some of China's more innovative apparel, electronics, housewares, and accessories brands, AliExpress Premier goes live today with an initial group of more than 30 brands, including AKseries, Eton Kidd, rip, and VANCL.
Speaking to Jing Daily about the new platform, Annie Xu, U.S. General Manager of Alibaba and AliExpress, said that the new Premier channel is designed to expose consumers outside of China to the idea that "Made in China" is now becoming "Designed in China." Explained Xu, "In the past, China was famous mostly for low-end OEM manufacturing," but as Alibaba has seen Chinese suppliers gain the capability to make innovative products, it is launching AliExpress Premier to "foster [brand development] and help a group of emerging brands and designers break out into the international space."
As Annie Xu added, all of the brands listed on AliExpress Premier are strictly vetted by the Alibaba team for quality, customer service, reliability and sales volume. With the exception of some brands that have a connection to Japan or Europe, virtually all are fully designed and manufactured in China by companies that have been active in the Chinese online or physical retail market for several years. All Premier sellers guarantee product authenticity, 24-hour dispatch and free return shipping.
The first batch of brands on AliExpress Premier include a range of companies that, while unknown to non-Chinese (and many Chinese) shoppers, fit with consumer trends in places like the United States. The conservation-minded womenswear brand
rip#
, for example, which launched five years ago on Taobao, focuses on humane designs that eschew all use of fur and leather products. As Tang Xian Feng, CEO of rip, said, the company is hoping to make contact with companies in the U.S. "who also want to serve women of style and character who love fashion but won't blindly follow the latest fashion trends."
In celebration of the launch of AliExpress Premier, and its one-year anniversary, AliExpress is offering special discounts of up to 70 percent. Check out AliExpress.com for details.